Report 22: Come on Down, Stop on By, Hop a Carpet and Fly
So, once again we have gone to the desert. Bartleby has gotten worse and he is trying to recall something very important. Ambrose suggests we try to find the Eye of History that Malistaire stole early in your adventure. Again, it was never said when you began your journey why he took the eye in the first place, only that he did. Going inside his home you come across another student who is trying to retrieve Malistaire’s journal. He is, or is trying to, gain a position in an organization known as the Cabal. Duncan falls pretty easily to your spells especially if you’re like me and do all the side quests before moving on. From the Arcanum we learn the Cabal has positions in the world of Mirage and it’s your best lead.
Getting there isn’t as easy though. The door disappeared into the Sands of Time and you have to put the door back in place. Upon arrival, we come to the canyons of Mirage-a world based off the Arabian Nights concept. In Caravan the merchants have been chased off by vultures and tengrils and you need to rescue them before getting any leads to the Cabal. Once that is done-the Mr. Clean genie directs you to a temple that has been broken open and the previously dead tyrant Xerxes has been brought back.
So now the Cabal has to wait as stopping Xerxes’ rise to power by uniting the splintered power factions of Mirage in a united stand.
So now everything shifts to this goal and the Eye and Cabal are put on hold since this is considered more important. Your goal is to clear out Aggrobah’s crime problem and unite the Quat Houses. Our first stop is Aggrobah where we meet the Sultana and her genie assistant. The King of Thieves has let the three gangs pretty much overrun the city and then fled to parts unknown. Our job is to force the Thuggies, Fangs, Ferals into a truce. Ali Baboon agrees pretty quickly but Loother Ray and Achmad need a bit more convincing.
On a side tangent I do like how they’ve made the hub areas a bit more alive than before. Like hearing crows chatter and more people walking around in the hub world instead of just staying in place. They did do that starting in Khrysylis-though I suppose it is because of the two different tones of the worlds that Mirage is more alive.
Also, we have a very big variety of enemy types. Genies, cobras, tabby cats, Persian cats, skeleton cats, boa constrictors, Siamese cats, baboons, pythons…here there are more variety of cat enemies in Mirage than there were in Marleybone which only had two models. They do also have some variance to Boss models of their respective clans. Then we have the introduction of Faction Rewards. Faction Rewards come from defeating a certain number of enemy types and allowing you to buy clothes, wands, and housing from that Faction in addition to the usual (defeat X number of X enemy badges). We also get Dual type enemies, basically where Bosses can have two mastery schools to utilize against you. This can be either a boon or a bane depending on your school and forcing you to think a bit more strategically this time.
And back onto the track after getting control back from the crime lords our next task is uniting the Quat houses. There are three families of Quats each dealing with a different issue in their districts that it is up to you to resolve. The Tabbi and Purresian houses are fighting for rights over the manor with the Benni Jesserit claiming authority over the final decision. We must go down to the Wyrm grounds and assist the heir but also free him from mind control.
In House Calixo, the Baron has gone mad from his illness and is either imprisoning or exiling all his heirs. The only heir that stands a chance against him is the eldest Teddy who was sent to Istanboa-a city of serpents. From there you must stage a jailbreak with the help of the Mongools as well as take Kobra Commander out of power.
And finally house Sayameez where there is a civil dispute over the Basking Grounds. The Ice minors are kept down in the cold while the upper class just lounge about in the sun all day. From here you must get an artifact that will force conversation and peace talks. These areas aren’t particular large or long, but are still packed with enough. Also, the storyline and procession are pretty straight forward compared to Khrysillys and Polaris.
Areas are locked off until you complete a section and you can track your progress a lot easier. Once united you face off against Xerxes who turns out to also be The Scorpion, one of Spider’s children. With the right help you can finish off this fight pretty easily. But wait! There’s more!
Yeah, Xerxes was just the distraction as the genies of the various houses have been swapping out the Chronoshards you’ve retrieved and swapped with fakes to give to Grandfather Spider. With the Chronoshards in hand and the Chronoverge under his control he is going to turn back time to the First World.
Also, the Cabal finally gets mentioned again. Turns out they are a schism from the Arcanum that feels the current world is broken and sick and needs to be reforged back into the First World to make things right. They never told you because they didn’t trust you since you dabbled in Shadow Magic and did set Grandfather Spider free in the first place.
You do manage to beat Spider in the Sands of Time, but know that if you do kill him, the Spiral will fall since his Heart was used to string the spiral into stability. I do like that the deities are a bit more gray area in this game. Raven says she needed Spider’s heart to complete the spell, in which afterwards she just tossed him into a well because he apparently loved the First World too much and refused to move on. I am saving judgement on Bartleby as he has not been as involved with the hazy memory but hopefully, he becomes more of a character in later stories. Also, you aren’t exactly in Raven’s favor anymore so she could strike you down if she feels she needs to.
When it comes to world length, Mirage is definitely one of the better worlds. It is longer than Polaris but not as long as Azteca. Also, it does not take as long (comparatively) to get the enemy badges as you only need to acquire 100 instead of 250 or a 1000. But the Spider is still out there as well as one of his Children and he’s captured Raven’s daughter. So, after wresting against a few more Djinn, I’ll head out to a new adventure…and hopefully not take as long as before. Take to the Sky my friends!